In this specification where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
Current technologies for applying labeling to a moving object typically suffer from certain drawbacks. For example, one such form of labeling involves application of ink or dye directly to the surface of the moving object. This technique can permanently mark the object such that if it becomes necessary or desirable at a later point in time to change the information applied to the object, it is often times impossible to do so. Moreover, use of such inks or dyes can be prone to smudging thus making them difficult to read on the finished product. In addition, the ink or dye may be many different shades or colors resulting in multiple nozzles to distribute the ink, thus causing increased expense and change over time during production. Therefore, for certain applications in which time and expense are brought to the forefront for properly marking various products; pre-printed labels can be the preferred choice.
One particular application of this type of labeling occurs in the production of cables or conduits. It is desirable to apply labeling to the outer periphery of cables or conduits while they are moving. U.S. Pat. No. 7,954,530 describes a method and apparatus for applying labels to cable or conduit. Throughout the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,954,530 the label is first tamped onto the cable and then wiped onto the cable using a series of rollers and shoes. These rollers and shoes are pressing the label onto the cable using aligning tools and springs. During this wipe down process the label has a tendency to skew from one end of the label to the other end. The label also has a tendency to both wrinkle and move on the cable before it is heated and shrink-wrapped. Thus, there is room for improvement relative to the method and apparatus described therein. Thus, there is a need in the art for effectively applying labeling to the outer periphery of a moving object in a manner which is economical, effective and repeatable.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass or include one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.